The sixth light novel in Asari Endou’s Magical Girl Raising Project series is the conclusion of the Limited story, fittingly titled Limited (II). I enjoyed the first part of the story quite a lot, so let’s now see if the whole thing holds up now that I have read the conclusion.
Front cover of Magical Girl Raising Project: Limited (II), featuring Weddin
Who will be the last magical girl standing?
It’s a battle between the hunters and the hunted in this life-or-death magical-girl manhunt game, now at its climax. One after another, the girls fall as the surrounding barrier’s time limit draws closer. The line between friend and foe has blurred – it’s every magical girl for herself. Which one will make it out of this bloodbath alive?
Whilst Limited (I) introduced the new cast of magical girls, Limited (II) is where all the major fights happen. There were a few clashes before, but from the very start of this light novel through to the end, the death toll just keeps rising.
I’ve mentioned before how that this particular cast of characters may just be my favourite from any of the Magical Girl Raising Project light novels; I still stand by that, particularly now that I’ve read Limited (II).
As such, the magical girls’ deaths come as real gut punches when they inevitably occur. They can happen very suddenly too, and I like that element of surprise. It may seem that a magical girl has the upper hand in a fight, but then things happen that drastically change that. Often with very grisly consequences.
The unpredictable way that the tides of battle could change makes for some very compelling reading, and I was always eager to go back to see what would happen next. The action scenes were fun to read, particularly with the variety of ways in which each magical girl is able to use her ability.
Marui-no’s art is also good, as it has been since the very first light novel. Not that I can really go into too much detail about the pictures without spoiling parts of Limited (II), but they do make some nice accompaniments to the plot.
I feel that in some ways, Limited (II) really plays with readers expectations, and does so very well. In amongst the group of magical girls, one is an assassin. The assassin’s true identity is never obviously given away before the reveal, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.
The climax of the story is particularly excellent, too. There are some unlikely alliances plus creative uses of powers, giving us some very memorable battles. There is one plot point, however, that seems to just sort of disappear after the dust settles.
It involves the Magical Kingdom, but to say anything else would be spoiling it. That particular plot point very much ties into the Limited title, and yet its resolution seems to be naught more than a vague background event.
Though saying that, I still had a great time reading both parts of Magical Girl Raising Project: Limited. Now I know how the story unfolds, I feel pretty confident in saying that Limited has been my favourite part of the Magical Girl Raising Project light novel series so far.
Rory Muses 